Seven More Lives
by somecallmej
Summary: this is my version of what happened after the finale because seriously, that was the worst possible way to end something. it picks up from where the series left off so i suggest you watch the finale before reading this. it also has a few things adapted from the books ;) hope you like it! I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR TAKING A WHILE TO UPDATE
1. Chapter 1

The world around her was a blur. The museum's room was spinning, the silence was screeching in her ears, and her breaths came in short gasps.

"Chloe." Amy crouched down so that her eyes met Chloe's. "Chloe, listen."

Why was she shouting? Her normally comforting voice made her head pound and she fought back the urge to puke.

"Chloe. Chloe!"

After another dizzying spin, the world faded into darkness and Chloe King slumped over the steps.

* * *

><p>He stared at the Mai in the living room, mouth slack in shock.<p>

"Why are you so surprised?" Zane taunted. "Did you not see the similarity in our good looks? Of course, I look better." He smirked and Alek faltered.

"Brother," he repeated dumbly.

"Yes. Brother," repeated Zane using a tone that made it sound like he was talking to a five-year-old.

"No," Alek whispered. His eyes swept the room again. Valentina and Jazz's bodies lay on the floor, facing each other. He could hear their strangled breaths, their heartbeats slowing. His own heart hardened. Brother or not, he was responsible for the pain his family, his _real _family, was in now.

"No!" he shouted. Claws extended, he lunged at Zane.

"Tsk, tsk. That's not the way you should treat your brother," said Zane, dodging him easily. He extended his own claws and dug them into Alek's arm, hard. Alek gasped in pain and aimed a kick at Zane's stomach. Zane threw a punch at his leg, claws still out, just before it could hit him and Alek staggered.

Alek's eyes sharpened and his Mai senses took over. With a hiss, he scratched Zane's cheek with sharp claws. He jumped when Zane attempted to kick and landed on his supposed brother. Zane fell over, Alek standing on his chest.

Zane's breaths grew heavier. He hadn't been prepared for Alek's Mai senses to sharpen and the effects were bad; he was losing to his younger brother. Desperate, he threw a poisoned dart up at him. Alek dodged, the dart barely missing his cheek, and Zane inwardly cursed himself. Thanks to that stupid Mai girl, many of his darts, darts that should've been used for Alek and the Uniter's human mother, had been wasted and he had only one left. For a second, he hesitated, wondering if he had done wisely to use so many darts on one girl. Simone wouldn't like it; she had worked hard to get the poison right.

Alek saw his chance. While Zane lay deep in thought under him, he grabbed a knife from the floor, feet still planted on Zane. Time seemed to slow down. With the swift flick of his wrist, the knife dove out of Alek's hand. Its sharp blade sank deep into flesh and Zane looked straight into Alek's eyes, gray eyes wide and mouth open in surprise.

Alek moved so that his head was inches away from Zane's.

"You are _not _my brother," he growled, voice filled with venom, as the life in Zane's eyes blurred until at last, he took his last breath.


	2. Chapter 2

**I actually have chapters 3 and 4 done, but I want to see what you guys think before posting. So review! :)**

* * *

><p>"Where were you?" Amy yelled as soon as Alek entered the bedroom. "And what happened to you?" she added more quietly when she saw the blood and wounds all around his body.<p>

Seeing Chloe on her bed, Alek's eyes widened. The hurt and anger he felt when she confessed she loved Brian to her mom was immediately replaced by worry. He made a sign with his hands for Amy and Paul to be quiet.

"Hello?" he said into his phone. "We need a healer immediately at the Uniter's house. The Uniter's unconscious."

"What happened to you?" Amy repeated once he pocketed his phone.

"What happened to Chloe?" he exclaimed, kneeling next to her bed.

"Our question first," said Paul, folding his arms over his chest, trying to look tough but failing miserably.

"No. What happened to Chloe?" After what he had just gone through, he was in no mood to deal with questions. Also, he still wasn't sure of what he would do; should he tell them the truth? Or should he wait for Chloe to wake up and tell her first?

Thankfully, the humans had paid attention to the tone in his voice and told him the little he knew. It was a lot worse than he thought.

Brian was dead. They didn't know how he died; Chloe had passed out before she could explain. They had anonymously called 911 before leaving the museum so that something could be done about the body, then rushed Chloe home, using the spare set of keys Amy had to get in. They called Valentina, Jazz, and Alek for help, but none had responded.

"Does her mom know?" asked Alek.

"No. We didn't want her to worry," Paul said.

"Good." Alek took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Now, what happened to you?" demanded Amy.

"I'm telling you now," Alek warned. "It's not gonna be good."

The room was quiet. Alek had told them everything. Well, almost everything. He accidentally "forgot" to mention that Zane was his brother. _Maybe-brother_, he told himself. He still wasn't sure of what to make out of it.

"What should we do now?" Paul asked. Alek sighed.

"I'm going to the roof. Tell me what the healer says about Chloe." Without waiting for a response, he climbed out the window and jumped onto the roof.

* * *

><p>He sat, wishing he had something to do. All of his thoughts were focused on one thing, or specifically, one girl—Chloe. It was his fault Chloe was unconscious. If only he had been there, protecting her instead of running away from her, this wouldn't have happened. It didn't matter that he might've saved Valentina and Jazz. Chloe was the Uniter; her safety should've been his top priority.<p>

He shouted in frustration; he hated feeling so helpless.

_Please, Chloe. Wake up. _


	3. Chapter 3

**i HAD to post, even though i was supposed to wait for reviews because**

**1. some had put my story on alert so there's some interest, right?**

**2. i couldn't wait any longer**

**yeah, that's about it. but guys, seriously. review! even bad comments are better than no comment**

Amy was the first to notice.

"Chloe!" she exclaimed.

"Chloe! You're awake!" said Paul.

"What happened?" Chloe asked groggily. "Oh my God," she whispered as everything flooded back. "What time is it? How long was I out?" she said louder.

"It's three am. You've been out for around six hours," Amy replied. She sat on her bed.

"Have you guys been here all night?"

"Pretty much," yawned Paul.

Amy elbowed him in the ribs.

"What? She asked," he said defensively.

"How are you feeling?" asked Amy, glaring at Paul.

"Not good," admitted Chloe. "Where's my mom?"

Amy and Paul exchanged a look.

"The thing is…she hasn't come home."

"_Not home_? Where is she? Why haven't you done anything?" Chloe screamed.

"We contacted the police, but we weren't sure of what to say. Where did she go last?"

"Dinner with some big guy from work." Chloe's eyes widened. "Oh my God. What if he was part of the Order? Where's Alek?"

"On the roof," said Paul.

"The roof? How long has he been there?" Chloe exclaimed.

"A little less than six hours," said Amy.

"_What?_" In a flash, Chloe had the window open. But a thought stopped her from going out.

_"You love who you love. Guess I never really stood a chance, did I?"_

She couldn't shake away his face; the look of hurt was heartbreaking, especially because this was _Alek Petrov. _His face was rarely anything but cocky.

Amy noticed her hesitation.

"Chloe? What happened between you and Alek?" she asked slowly.

"I'll tell you guys tomorrow. Go get some sleep," Chloe sighed.

Paul and Amy looked at each other. "You sure?"

Chloe nodded. With a final glance at her, they left. She sighed. More than anything, she wanted to find her mom, but the only way she could do that was with Alek and Jazz. Taking a deep breath, she climbed out the window.

"Alek?" Silence. "Alek?" She climbed up and saw his silhouette sitting just two feet away from her. She padded softly to him. "Alek."

He looked up. "Chloe. You're awake," he said quietly.

"Alek," she choked out. "I need your help. My mom's missing."

Alek looked at her, black eyes boring into her green ones. "Not now, Chloe. You need to rest. And I think we've both got something to say."

"No! My mom might be dead, Alek. Doesn't that mean anything? If you won't help, I'll go get Jazz."

"She won't be able to help you." He stood up close enough for her to see the wounds and dry blood in his body, causing her to gasp. Looking down at her, he said, "Just go to sleep. We'll figure things out tomorrow." He turned away abruptly and sat down again.

"Stay in my room with me," Chloe whimpered. The idea of sleeping in her house alone was too depressing. She thought she saw Alek's eyes light up, but she blinked and it was gone.

"No. I'll be on your roof." He couldn't trust himself to stay with her. He had to get over her because no matter what would happen between them, he couldn't shake away the idea that if she could choose who she was talking to right now, it wouldn't be him.

* * *

><p>"He did <em>what<em>?" Amy screeched the next afternoon.

"Not so loud," Chloe said, despite the fact that they were the only ones in the house. _I don't want to have to say it again,_ she moaned in her head, briefly glancing at Alek. He was staring right at her. _Awkward._

"He did what?" Amy repeated, quieter.

"He kissed me," she said softly. This time, she didn't dare look at Alek.

Paul, Alek, Amy, and Chloe were sitting in a circle in Chloe's room. It was a beautiful day outside; bright and sunny with just enough clouds to fight the worst of the sun's glare, but all had voted to stay in Chloe's room. Then, Alek told Chloe what happened with Zane, still missing out on the part that they were "brothers", and now, Chloe was taking her turn to share.

"And that's how he died," Alek said lamely. His British accent didn't send shivers down Chloe's spine the way it usually did. Chloe knew exactly what he was hiding behind the monotonous mask, and it was taking every ounce of her energy to resist the need to cry.

None of them said anything for a moment.

"Why were there in the first place?" Paul asked cautiously, his voice slicing through the silence.

_Here comes the hard part._ "I thought…mydadwasgoingtomeetmethere."

"What?" It was Alek who asked, the only one who didn't know.

"I thought my dad was going to meet me there."

"Wait," Paul said, eyebrows knit in concentration.

Alek picked up immediately. "You said you _thought_ your dad was going to meet you." When Chloe nodded, he continued, his voice firm, "Chloe, who was there?"

Chloe heaved a big sigh, trying to delay the moment as much as she could. "The Order." As soon as the words escaped her lips, big wet tears cascaded down her ivory cheeks. She pulled her knees to her chest before whispering, "I lost another life."

Without another word, Alek pulled her to his chest and she sobbed into his gray T-shirt as he rocked her back and forth. She could feel the tension underneath the muscles, but she refused to break away. It didn't matter if he was angry at her; this was exactly what she needed and there was no one else, dead or alive, she could imagine doing this with right now.

* * *

><p>"I—" hiccup, "thought it was him—" hiccup, "for sure." Deep breath. "But it was all—" hiccup, "a trick. They were—" hiccup, "ready for me; members of—" hiccup, "the Order. And after, a girl—" hiccup, "with red hair. She—" hiccup, "was at the event—" hiccup, "Brian took me to." Chloe's face was now tear-free, but the hiccups were driving her nuts.<p>

"But they emailed you?" Paul asked. Again, he was knitting his eyebrows.

Chloe nodded.

"Did you recognize the email?"

She shook her head.

"So what made you think it was him?"

"A story. When I was younger, we made stories together. He emailed me one of the lines," she said softly, still constantly interrupted by hiccups. "We called it _Hannity Hoppity."_

She looked at Alek again. He wasn't teasingly arching an eyebrow the way he would've done before. He didn't make any side comments. Instead, he stared into space; his gorgeous features a blank mask.

"The girl with red hair was the one who killed you?" Amy inquired.

Chloe nodded. "She had a gun."

"And you recognized her from the business even Brian took you to."

"Yeah. She was with his dad the whole time."

"Well, we've got something. So she's probably part of the Order."

"Yeah."

"And what about your mom? She was having dinner with someone for work, right?"

Chloe nodded, her throat constricted. She hated just sitting here but there wasn't much she could do. She didn't know anything about the person Meredith went out with last night; not his name, his looks, or even how exactly he was part of her mom's work, if that wasn't a lie.

"Do you know where?"

"No. I don't know anything about him," she moaned. Why had she not pay attention when her mom was telling her?

"Don't be too hard on yourself," said Amy, reading her mind. "It's not like we knew the Order was onto everything we did."

"Yeah, but," Chloe sighed.

"But nothing," Amy replied firmly.


	4. Chapter 4

"What do you want from me?" Meredith King's eyes flashed. Her wrists and ankles were bound and she was sitting on an armchair inside a small, dimly lit room. Mr. Rezza smiled thinly at her.

"We don't want anything from you. We're just using you as bait." He flashed an evil grin at her.

"Bait for what?" Meredith demanded.

Before he could respond, a thin red-haired woman stepped into the room.

"Whitley," she said, nodding at him. "I see you've done your part."

"Simone," he replied, acknowledging her. "What do you want?"

"I'm afraid I have some bad news." She walked closer and whispered something into his ear. Meredith watched as her kidnapper's stone face morphed into horror.

"_What?_" he bellowed. "_Call the Order! We are going to discuss this immediately." _He stormed out without a backward glance. The woman followed him, her heels clicking on the posh wooden floor. Before closing the door, she looked back.

"_Adios,_" she said. She smirked and closed the door. The sound echoed and Meredith sighed. By the look of things, it would be a while before anything would be done about her.

* * *

><p>"Valentina was not supposed to touch Brian." Whitley paced back and forth angrily. "What did the Order say?"<p>

"I haven't called them."

"What do you mean you haven't called them?" Whitley said angrily. "Call them imme—"

Simone cut him off. "No. You have to hear everything first." She wrapped her slender arms are his neck. "You're not thinking," she whispered into his ear. "You're acting on impulse. Calm down." She moved one arm to his back, making soothing circles.

Whitley sighed, his age clearly in his face. "Fine. What happened?"

"Valentina is dead and the daughter is in bad condition. There's a big chance of the daughter dying," she said, allowing herself to smile triumphantly. "The Uniter has lost another life."

"How do you know this?" Whitley wouldn't allow himself to hope. Losing Brian was enough; he couldn't handle any more disappointments.

"The Mai pet I had; Zane. He sent me signals to know that he had successfully hit Valentina with a dart. I myself made the poison; nothing can save her now. But the daughter had not been hit; but left to die. Knives." She took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, the Mai boy killed Zane and had help brought in."

"And the Uniter?"

"I shot her myself."

Whitley took a deep breath and was silent for a moment. "Do you know which one of those bitches killed my son?" he said, voice low.

"No," Simone lied, thinking of the picture Zane had taken. The only one she hid from him.

Whitley must never know about his son and the Uniter.


	5. Chapter 5

"Poor Jazz," someone whispered close by.

"I know. That must've hurt," said a male voice, a little further, but still close.

"And she really liked him," the first voice said sadly.

Jasmine fluttered her eyes, struggling to open them. She tried rubbing her eyes open, but realized she could barely move her arms. What was going on?

"Hey!" someone said. With a start, Jazz realized it was Alek. "She's waking up!"

She heard footsteps coming towards her.

"Jazz?" Alek said. "Are you awake?"

"Shh!" someone hissed. It was Chloe. "Let her rest if she needs to."

Jazz fought again to open her eyes, winning this time.

"I'm awake," she said, sitting up. But as soon as she said it, she regretted not going back to sleep. Her head pounded and she was parched. Her entire body was sore, especially her hands, and she felt weak.

"Jazz!" Chloe ran and joined Alek next to her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Not so good." The words tumbled out of her lips before she realized it. That was definitely not what she was supposed to say. She was supposed to say, "I'm fine." She was supposed to suck it up, just like her mom taught her to be.

_Mom._

Her mind filled with fuzzy memories. It was as if someone had taken a video without focusing the lens. Not only that, but she felt like someone had turned it off before she could finish. She remembered being stood up by a boy. A boy she really liked. She remembered going back to apartment and her mom…What happened to her mom? She frowned, but that was all she could remember.

"Don't worry. The healers said you'll be fine," Alek said.

For the first time, Jazz looked at her surroundings. The furniture was all white and she was lying on a bed with crisp white sheets. Machines were everywhere and a lot were connected to her. A simple two-seat sofa sat against a wall to her left and a flat screen TV was directly across her bed.

_I'm in Mai headquarters, _she realized. The actual San Francisco headquarters.

She had only been here one other time, with her mom, when she started transforming. Her mom, having been here all the time, being Pride leader, showed her every single room and made sure Jazz could navigate herself around, blindfolded. After all, she was to become Pride leader once her mom passed away.

She was in one of the rooms in the medical wing, though it was hard to tell because each was designed almost exactly the same way. What was she doing there? It was probably a part of her fuzzy memories, buried deep inside her head. Desperately, she tried to find it, but gave up when her head started hurting even more.

"Does it hurt anywhere?" Chloe asked, clearly concerned.

Jazz nodded and sighed. "Everywhere. Mostly my gut." She thought for a moment, weighing her options. Finally, she asked, "What happened?"

Alek and Chloe looked at each other. She didn't have to be Mai to know they were worried. Whatever it was that happened, it must've been bad. Then again, it was pretty bad that she couldn't remember, too.

"You don't remember?"

Jazz shook her head. "Just bits and pieces. Like, I remember being stood up, but I can't remember his name or what he looked like. I know something happened to my mom. And just now, I realized I was hurt because I'm in the medical wing."

"Is this a bad thing, or is it normal?" she heard Chloe whisper to Alek.

"I can't say for sure," he whispered back. "But it seems pretty bad. Jazz hardly forgets anything."

Chloe glanced worriedly at her. "Should we tell her what happened?"

"How about we wait for a few days?" she said loudly, letting them know she could hear them.

Chloe blushed, and Alek looked a little surprised.

"We'll see if I remember anything else. If I don't, then you guys can tell me what happened."

"Good idea," Alek said and Chloe smiled. Despite whatever happened to her, she was still Jazz; still smart and quick-minded.

"Did the healers mention the possibility of this happening?" she asked.

The two looked at each other again.

"If he did, I don't remember…"

Alek shrugged in agreement. "I'll go get a healer now," he said. He left the room.

"You really can't remember?" Chloe asked softly.

"No, but." She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Did anything bad happen to my mom?"

Chloe shifted her eyes uneasily to the clock on the wall. "Um, well…"

That was enough for Jazz to know. She groaned and leaned down on her pillow.

"Is it really bad?" she asked in a small voice, sounding completely unlike herself.

Alek and a healer, a different one, came in at that moment, saving Chloe from having to give an answer. The healer briskly walked over to Jazz and checked the machines.

"I'm Chance, one of the Mai healers," she said. "What Alek told me here is that you can't remember what happened yesterday. Is that true?"

"I remember bits and pieces, but nothing big."

Chance wrote something down in her clipboard. "I have notes here from Brad, your previous healer." She nodded, reading the notes.

"Yes, it does say here that you might lose memory," she announces. "But there's a chance it will return."

"What's wrong with me?" Jazz asked flatly.

"Well, you have a deep knife wound in your gut, so you've lost a lot of blood, and you might have a minor concussion."

Jazz gazed down at herself, longing to pull of the clean white gown she was changed into.

"It's not a pretty sight. We had to close the wounds so there will be fresh scars," said Chance, noticing Jazz's stare.

"Oh," she said, for lack of anything better to say.

"You should be okay soon," said Chance, breaking the awkward silence. "I'll leave you to rest. You two," she addressed Chloe and Alek, "should leave. Rest is the best medicine."

"I thought the best medicine was laughter," Alek joked, attempting to break the tension.

Chloe gave a short, empty laugh. Chance just glared at him.

"I mean it, you two. Out."

Chloe and Alek walked out obediently. Things were still a little tense between them, but they agreed to set aside everything between them to take care of more important matters—Jazz, Valentina, and Meredith, Chloe's mom.

"I'm so worried about Jazz," Chloe murmured. "She can't remember. And based on what you told me, what happened was a_ huge_ thing to forget."

"I know." Alek's carefree mask was off, replaced with worry.

The two walked in a semi-awkward, semi-comforting silence. Both had the same destination, even though they hadn't planned it: Valentina's room.

Reaching room 32, Alek opened the door quietly. From firsthand experience, they knew they weren't supposed to knock in case they woke up the patients.

"Alek." Valentina smiled warmly.

The two stepped inside quietly, despite the fact that Valentina was awake.

"How are you feeling?" Chloe asked, going to her side. Valentina was practically her second mom, and she hated seeing how weak and tired she looked. There were dark circles under her eyes, her cheeks were hollow, and she was noticeably thinner than she was the night before.

"I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me," Valentina said dismissively. "How's Jazz?"

Chloe looked at her in surprise. "How did you know we—"

Alek cut her off. "Don't ask. She knows things."

"Oh," Chloe said, taken aback.

Valentina smiled. "You still haven't answered my question."

"She's fine, Aunt Val," Alek answered.

"But," Chloe hesitated, "she can't remember what happened that night."

Valentina raised her eyebrows, but other than that, she remained calm and expressionless.

"She can remember small parts," Alek quickly cut in, reading the hidden message behind her face. Years of living with her granted him that ability. "But her memory's choppy." He could tell Valentina relaxed a bit.

"What does she remember?"

Chloe and Alek told her and she looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Are you planning on telling her what happened?" she asked.

Chloe shook her head. "Only if it's apparent that she won't get her memory back on her own."

After a little more talk about Jazz and other polite chat, Alek and Chloe left.

"I wish she were okay again," Chloe said sadly. The awkwardness between them had slightly lifted. "I really want to tell her about my mom, but it's so hard seeing how bad she looks."

"I know," Alek agreed. "She'd know what to do. But we can't stress her any more with more bad news. The thing about Jazz was enough."

"Yeah," Chloe sighed.

* * *

><p>Something else was bothering Chloe and Alek. Valentina had realized that right away, but she also knew they wouldn't tell her. There was something besides there worry for Jazz and herself and awkwardness Valentina knew had to be because of their relationship.<p>

Could they know?

Of course not. Valentina had made sure everyone in the headquarters knew not to mention it. Not until it was over, at least.

It exasperated her, but she knew it couldn't be helped. There was still so much work to be done for the Mai. She had done everything she could to prepare Jazz, but what if it wasn't enough? Her daughter was still young; it would be hard for her bear such a heavy weight on her shoulders.

Ever since she had fallen on the floor back in her apartment, she knew. The way icy coldness crept into her veins, the way everything seemed hazy, the way she felt too weak to do anything—it was all a clear sign. She had been poisoned with the same toxic that killed her mother.

And she knew this: by nine o'clock tonight, she would be dead.


	6. Chapter 6

**Finally updating! I'm sorry it's taken so long, but I've been so busy with school. Now that it's finally summer and I get to write, I'm going through writer's block, which totally sucks. This chapter isn't much, but review anyway! Please? :)**

* * *

><p>"Valentina is dead," Simone announced.<p>

Whitley looked up from his desk. "Are you sure?"

Instead of replying, she handed him over a CD. Whitley took it and put it in his laptop. A shaky image of several Mai sitting on rows of chairs appeared. The camera zoomed in on the front to a gold casket.

"No!" a voice screamed. "You can't leave me! _No_!"

The screen then showed Jasmine, sobbing and screaming.

Abruptly, Whitley stopped the CD.

"Where did you get this?" he asked calmly.

Simone smiled at his ignorance. "Did you really think Zane was our only Mai spy?"

* * *

><p>Alek sighed as Jazz let another heart-wrecking sob escape. It had been exactly four hours and twenty-one minutes since the news of Valentina's death was released, and Jazz hadn't stopped crying since. She had been let out of the medical wing for an hour to go to her mom's wake, but was now back in her room, in too much pain to even stand.<p>

The worst part was, she still couldn't remember what happened and Chloe refused to let Alek to tell her.

"It's not good for her," Chloe had told him outside of Jazz's room. "She'll just be in even more pain. I think if she could figure it out herself, she should."

He had taken just one look into her green eyes and agreed. This was Chloe. She knew what she was talking about, especially after what happened with her dad.

But now, Alek wasn't so sure. The conversation with Chloe had happened two hours ago and he could've sworn Jazz's bawls were only getting louder. A couple of times, he considered calling Chloe, who had gone back to her empty house, but he didn't have the heart to resist the feelings he still had for her. True, she had crushed him, but just by looking at her beautiful face, he could forget all of that. Her voice could've belonged to an angel. He had to fight to resist running his hands through her golden locks. And her lips always reminded him of how it felt to kiss her…

Alek blinked, jolting him out of his thoughts. This wasn't good. He had to find a way to stop this. Chloe didn't like him that way, and she would never love him more than she ever loved her human. Before he knew it, his claws were out and he was biting back a hiss.

This was definitely not good.

* * *

><p>"Chloe?" Amy asked immediately after picking up. "What's wrong?"<p>

Sighing tiredly, she answered, "Valentina died today."

"_What_? Do you need to talk about it? I'm getting Paul. We'll be there soon." Before Chloe could reply, Amy hung up.

True to her word, Amy and Paul were at the King's house in eight seven minutes.

"Tell us everything," Amy demanded, plopping down on Chloe's bed.

Chloe obeyed. She told them about how Jazz and Valentina had to be sent to Mai headquarters to be properly treated, what she and Alek said to them, and how Jazz could hardly remember what happened that night. She told them about Valentina's death, which meant Jazz would become leader of the San Francisco pride, and how it was a poison that killed Valentina.

When she finished, she felt significantly better, but still unhappy.

"What's up with you and Alek?" Paul asked, sensing the thoughts she refused to think.

"I don't know," Chloe admitted. "We agreed to be okay with each other for the time being, and we're talking and stuff, but—" she sighed heavily, "—I don't know what's going to happen after, you know? Like, when Jazz gets her memory back, or when we tell her what happened, then what? I still have to find my mom but I'd need his help. Jazz would probably be too busy to help out, being pride leader, and all, and I just don't know what to do."

"Hey, that's fine," Amy said soothingly, rubbing her back as tears started falling down Chloe's cheeks. "You don't have to do anything."

"Yeah," Paul agreed. "Sometimes the best thing to do is just wait and find out."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, so sorry it took me a while to update! I just wasn't feeling to it an when I'm not in the mood, I don't write well. Anyway, review, review, review! I won't post the next chapter unless there are at least 5 new reviews! I'm counting ;)**

* * *

><p>Meredith felt something light hit her back.<p>

"Eat," a voice ordered before the door slammed. She felt her way around the floor for the food she was given; whenever she wasn't being spoken to, she was blindfolded, probably so she wouldn't have time to find a way to escape. Or maybe it was just to torture her some more. Finally, her hands grazed over something soft and fluffy, around the size of her fist. She picked it up and felt it—a piece of bread.

_Why not just leave me to die? _she asked herself. But she already knew the answer.

"_We don't want anything from you. We're just using you as bait." _She couldn't erase that hideous smile on Mr. Rezza's face from her memory. And her maternal instinct told her this whole thing had something to do with Chloe.

Chloe, the most important person in her life. Was she okay? Had she contacted the police? Had Mr. Rezza found her? What was she doing right now?

Maybe her maternal instinct was wrong. But if that were the case, why did she feel a pit in her stomach?

* * *

><p>"Have you found anything?" Chloe asked Alek from her phone, just half an hour after her last call.<p>

"Not yet. I told you, as soon as something pops up, you'll be the first to know."

"I know, but…" Chloe sighed. She wished she could just let everything pour out like it had before. Her emotions felt bottled up, even though she still had Paul and Amy. It just felt different talking to them about it. They were humans; they would never know what it was like. But Alek and Jazz knew exactly what it was like to be hunted, to be hated, to be a part of this crazy world. And they were both out of her reach.

On the other end, Alek could practically hear Chloe's thoughts. He felt the same way, not to mention the fact that his heart felt as if it were breaking again every time he was reminded of her. That's why he had stopped going to school; it was too painful to hear her, too painful to see her, to painful to act as if everything were okay.

So he kept himself occupied. He had practically moved into the Mai headquarters' healing wing, watching Jazz, making sure she was okay. He was provided with a small room—more of a closet, really—so he wouldn't have to go back to the apartment but he would never call it "home." It felt dangerous, being in the Mai headquarters; if the Order knew where he, Jazz, and Valentina had lived, how could he be sure they wouldn't find him again? But there was nothing he could do.

Valentina. He fought back tears just thinking about her. She was practically his mom—she was the one who found him, cold and alone that faithful day, the one who discovered he, too, was Mai. She raised him the way no else ever had. There was so much he should've—no, could've—done for her. If only he was given the chance.

Then there was that whole thing with Zane. There was no way they were brothers. No brother of his would ever betray the Mai…right? Yet, whenever he replayed scenes he had with Zane, he could see the similarities, from their physical features, to the little bits of information he gave when the two of them were together; a liking for loud, rock music, a love for basketball, and a taste for the sweet and salty food combination. The whole thing was unbelievably confusing and no matter how deep he dug into his past—through the Internet, his birth records, everything—he always came out empty-handed.

"Never mind." Chloe's voice shook Alek out of his thoughts, and he remembered he was still on the phone.

"Okay." His voice sounded weird, even to him. He let out a small, awkward cough. Just as he was about to say bye and hang up, he blurted, "Don't worry. We'll find her." Realizing what he just said, he quickly hung up.

Chloe stared at her phone, unable to figure out what just happened. For a minute there, she thought the old Alek was back. She felt her hopes rise at the thought of things going back to how they were. Maybe someone or something had heard her wishes and decided to grant them. But Alek had hung up and she knew things weren't going to get anywhere.

* * *

><p>Jazz screamed into her pillow. She felt utterly helpless and this was not something she was used to. While Alek and Chloe were trying to figure out where Chloe's mom was, she was stuck in the medical wing of Mai headquarters. Where there was nothing to do. Where there was nothing to think about. Where there was nothing to distract her from the horrible pain she felt every time she thought about…<em>No, don't think it, <em>Jazz willed herself. But she knew it was no use. She felt like she was living with half her soul. No, a fourth. It was one thing for her mom to be murdered, but _at the hand of the boy she thought loved her_? Wasn't that too much?

She felt her mouth start to tremble, almost familiarly. Tears threatened to fall and she swallowed a lump in her throat. _There's no use in crying, there's nothing I can do_, she told herself angrily. Yet the tears still came and she let them, too tired to fight. She released a strange, strangled-sounding noise involuntarily and sobbed. Both she and her mom had known death was a huge risk to Valentina, being the San Francisco pride leader, but Jazz had always just dismissed it without a second thought. Now, it was all too real.


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay, I'm updating! It's been 2 months so thanks to everyone who's still reading! And a BIG thanks to the 5 reviewers! I wouldn't have posted without you ;)**

**Like all my chapters, it's not a long one. So you must be wondering, why does it take so much time for me to update when I'm not writing much? It's hard, okay. Sometimes, I just can't get in the mood to write. And other times, and this applies to this chapter, I have a HUGE writer's block. Seriously, writer's block sucks. **

**But anyway, here's the next chapter! Because there's been a fairly big gap in between this chapter and the last, I think you guys need a reminder of what happened last time: Meredith has a feeling something bad's going to happen to Chloe (insert dramatic music), Chloe's worried about her mom, things are still awkward between Chloe and Alek, and poor Jazz is dying-literally and mentally.**

**Remember to review after!**

* * *

><p>"Chloe? I think I found something."<p>

"You did?" Chloe exclaimed excitedly into her phone's receiver.

It had been just over a week since Valentina died. Jazz had healed from her injuries and was slowly recovering after her mom's death. Now, without her mom, she stayed in Mai headquarters with Alek. It looked as if it would stay that way until she was a legal adult among humans and could live on her own without worrying about attracting unwanted attention. She had also dropped out of school to take over Valentina's place as pride leader. And ever since her recovery, she had been working nonstop to find Chloe's mom.

"Yeah, can you come over as soon as school ends? Meet me in my room," Jazz suggested.

"Forget school, I'm going there now." Chloe hung up and raced through the hallways. Thank God it had been lunch break or she wouldn't have been able to escape as easily. Using every inch of willpower she had, she ran as fast as a normal human until she finally broke through the doors. She let her Mai senses take over and ran all the way to Mai headquarters without breaking a sweat.

"Chloe!" Jazz called as soon as the blonde entered the doors of her new home.

"Jazz! What did you find?" Chloe said quickly, unable to hide the impatience in her voice. It had been over a week since her mom disappeared and she was desperate. Jazz refused to tell the human police.

"We have no idea with what we're dealing with; they could get hurt. And it would just make it more obvious that we're looking for her," she had argued when Chloe picked up the phone.

As upset as she was, Chloe knew better than to argue with Jazz. Even if she was the Uniter, she could see Jazz's point. And going against the new San Francisco pride leader's orders would not end well.

"We were able to find out where your mom ate that night. And from a waiter there, we know she left with the person she ate with—the 'investor'." Jazz paused to hand Chloe over a slip of paper. "The waiter also has a photographic memory."

"What's this?" Chloe asked, looking down at the sheet.

9ZZR547.

"License plate."

Chloe felt a smile tug at her lips.

"Finally, we're getting somewhere."

* * *

><p>"Alek."<p>

At the sound of his name, Alek couldn't help but feel a flicker of hope that the voice belonged to a certain beautiful blonde, even though he knew whom the voice really belonged to.

"Jazz," he replied evenly, without turning to look. "What do you want?"

"I need you to start taking Uniter duty again."

Alek took a deep, painful breath.

"I know it's a lot to ask," Jazz rambled, "but we really need to keep an eye on her. She's alone in her house and now that her mom's gone, we need to keep an extra watch. She—"

"Can't you ask someone else to do it?" He didn't know what would happen if he went back there. What if he couldn't control himself and did something he would regret? Or what if the Order went after Chloe and he couldn't stop them? He would never be able to forgive himself. And of course…

_I think I'm in love with Brian._

_I think._

_ In love._

_ Brian._

The words were seared into his brain and he couldn't stop the echoes, the pain. No matter how hard he tried to overcome his feelings for her, he just _couldn't_. Everything reminded him of her; the grass made him think of her green eyes, basketball made him think of the day she threw his basketball into the trashcan, even his _clothes _reminded him of the store she used to work in.

It was torture.

"I don't know who I can trust," Jazz admitted. She walked over to him and swallowed hard before continuing. "Ever since _him_, I haven't been able to shake the feeling that there are more of them against us. If I leave a spy with her…"

She didn't have to say any more.

"I'll do it."

Jazz smiled in relief. Before asking, she had no idea whether or not he would agree to it. On one hand, he was crazy about Chloe—she knew this for a fact. After all, it was she who had to endure his love-filled ramblings. On the other hand, Chloe had really hurt him. Alek had a lot of pride, and to know that she chose a human over him? That was a big blow to his ego.

"Thanks."

* * *

><p>"There it is," Chloe whispered. A shiny, small black car. She had no idea what brand it was—cars were never her thing—but she couldn't care less. It was <em>the <em>car. Two weeks of searching and they finally found it.

"But how do we get inside?" Jazz wondered aloud.

"I'm always up for a fight," Alek suggested.

The three were hidden in the trees and a good few hundred meters away, but still, it was best to be careful. The journey, and everything leading up to it, was the most awkward thing Chloe had ever experienced but it was all going to be worth it. She just had to be patient.

"No," Jazz replied firmly. "We have to think about this."

"So what do we do now?" Alek asked.

"Back to headquarters for now. We found the car—that's enough for now. We have to come up with a plan."


	9. Note

Hi everyone, I'm so sorry but I've decided to stop writing the story Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed it though, you guys were amazing and really helped me out. The story is up for adoption if anyone wants it, just PM me


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